


The Sword and the Hollyhock

by Raise_a_Roselia



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25698304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raise_a_Roselia/pseuds/Raise_a_Roselia
Summary: The wars of the Sengoku are coming to a close as the Tokugawa ushers in the Edo period. Tomoe, faced with execution, is forced to take on a mission escorting a young woman.
Relationships: Udagawa Tomoe/Uehara Himari
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	The Sword and the Hollyhock

**Author's Note:**

> Before you get into this, a disclaimer: my knowledge of Edo Japan is not as good as I'd like it to be. However if I waited to write this until it was, I'd never end up writing this. So I apologise in advance for any historical inaccuracies. If you catch any, feel free to point them out, it's a subject I'd love to be corrected on.  
> Also some terms:  
> Bakufu=samurai government.  
> Wakazashi=japanese short sword  
> Daimyo=lord of a domain  
> Chonmage=samurai topknot  
> Tozama daimyo= daimyo who joined the Tokugawa after it was already certain they would end up ruling the country.  
> Kuge aristocrat= a class of aristocrats surrounding the imperial court in Kyoto.

"How the hell am I gonna get out of this one?" The samurai- or more accurately, ronin- muttered under her breath as she stared down the city guard. Her back was against a wall to steep too climb. Even if it was climbable, any one of those spears surrounding her could skewer her before she could get out of range.

"Udagawa Tomoe!" The guard in the middle of the semicircle trapping her shouted. "You are under arrest by the order of the Shogun for the murder of Yamagata Morinari! Drop your weapons and come with us!"

"Damn it..." Tomoe grumbled. Whether or not she killed the guy- she did- didn't matter at this point. She was a wanderer without a lord, answering to no master. And to the newly established Tokugawa bakufu, that was a threat. The fact that she had killed a bakufu official, regardless of her reasons, was just the cherry on top. And that cherry was about to get her executed.

The guards took another step closer, tightening the circle. There were too many to fight off, even for a fighter of her skill. She could force her way through the guards, but there was no way she was getting out unscathed. She had hoped to be halfway to Mount Fuji by now. Instead she never made it out of Edo. With a final growl, she sheathed her katana and lowered herself to her knees, setting both the long short and the shorter wakizashi in front of her. She stared down at the ground in disgust, her deep red hair surrounding her face as the guards hurried to grab her, restraining and blindfolding her before yanking her to her feet and marching her away. 

As they made their way through the city, Tomoe found herself lost in though over her impending demise. With her execution, the Udagawa clan would die out: her parents having died and her younger sister having married into a better life. Tomoe never liked the idea of getting married, even if anyone was willing to take her. Most men feared a woman who could handle a blade better than them. Her father was the one who trained her, knowing full well it mean she'd likely never find a husband. But she never had a brother and so her father wanted to be sure the family line would survive one generation after him. Most would argue he was a terrible father for ruining her chances at finding a husband, and thus a better life. But this life suited Tomoe just fine. She was always something of a tomboy and the idea of being the housewife of some middling samurai was certainly not her idea of a "better life". She rather die a free woman, and she'd get that chance soon.

Being lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed her escort had pulled her into a building. What she did notice was the sudden step down, which would've caused her to fall face first if she weren't restrained by the guards. 

"What your step," one sneered. A bit late...

She counted the footsteps as she descended. Aside from hers, she could only hear 3 sets, one of which seemed much lighter than the other two. They'd lost most of the guards somewhere.

They continued on for a short while before the steps leveled out. She heard a rattling of bars just before the blindfold was removed. What was before her was a small prison cell. Her chains around her wrists were removed and she was shoved into the cell, the door slamming shut behind her. She stumbled a bit but managed to stay on her feet and turned to face her captors. Staring her down were three men: two she recognized as guard who had captured her. The third man she did not recognize, though she could hazard a guess.

"Udagawa Tomoe," the man spoke with authority, though Tomoe could tell immediately that he had none. He dressed the part of an important person: his clothes fit him well, obviously tailored, and his kimono was made of silk. However he wore no swords and his long, black hair fell loosely over his shoulders instead of a chonmage. He was no samurai, certainly not a daimyo. 

Tomoe stayed silent in response to her name. Whatever was going on here seemed fishy, mostly due to the fact that her head has still attached to her shoulders and her guts were in her body where they belonged.

"You have been accused of the murder of Yamagata Morinari," the man continued despite her silence. "And for that crime you should be put to death. The bakufu can't have ronin running around killing their officials."

"Tradition dictates-" Tomoe began to defend herself before being the man raised a hand to interrupt her.

"The Tokugawa have ushered in a new age." There was a hint of annoyance in his voice. "You will of course be granted the honor of commiting seppuku in aknowledgement of your cause. But you will die all the same and the Udagawa clan will end."

"The Udagawa clan would have always ended with me," she retorted. Theoretically she could adopt a son to keep the line going. It was fairly common practice, especially among the higher ranks of the social order. However it would require a willing man and the number of those who would do so for a ronin were slim.

"Perhaps," the man answered. "I imagine it will be hard on your sister however."

"Ako knows of my duty and it's consequences."

"But does it have to end the way you believe?"

At this Tomoe narrowed her eyes and looked over the man again with suspicion. The man waved off the guards and they left the room, leaving just Tomoe and the man who still haven't given his name.

"You see, Udagawa-san," He spoke again once the echos of the guards footsteps faded. "I have a problem. I had planned to arrange a marriage for my daughter some time ago with another clan. To a daimyo, in fact. However, before the agreement could be reached, the daimyo was forced to leave the city and return to his domain."

He turned, facing away from Tomoe and reached up to play with the flame of a candle.

"Due to... Various circumstances, I cannot wait a year for the Matsumae to return. I need someone to escort my daughter north to their domain. In exchange I'd be willing to pull some strings and call in favors so that you'll be able to live, albeit banished from Edo."

Alarm bells blared through Tomoe's head. There was so much that seemed wrong here she didn't know where to begin. Then again, turning this down would mean her immediate execution. Even if this was a setup, it'd mean she'd get to live another day. And who knows, maybe it's all legitimate and she'd get to travel with a girl for some time. Beats running from the law.

"Very well," Tomoe answered, rising to her feet. "When do we leave?"

"Immediately," The man responded as he opened her cell door. Without another word, he gestured for her to follow him. The two returned back upstair and Tomoe was deposited just outside the front door and told to wait. As she did, a look around confirmed her suspicions: the house was not one of a daimyo for sure, not even a tozama daimyo. Given the fact that he did have a home in Edo though, the new capital, marked him with some wealth. He was likely a kuge aristocrat, though what he was doing outside of Kyoto was something she couldn't figure out. It did raise even more questions about this job, the biggest being why her?

Eventually the front door opened once more and the man stepped out. At his side, he was accompanied by a... Strange girl. She was shorter than Tomoe, though most girls were. She was dressed in the same fine silk as the man standing next to her. The most glaring thing about her though was the pale, pink hair that barely reached her shoulders. It fell around her face as she bowed.

"I was told you are the one who will be accompanying me on my journey, samurai," she said, still bowing. "I am glad to be in such fine company. I am Uehara Himari."

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this au idea for a while now so I figured I'd run with it a bit. I'm not sure how long I want to make this but I didn't want to do just a one-shot. I'll see where the story goes. Because I also probably won't be updating this as quickly as I did with Grief. I prooooobaly won't have a mini-glossary at the beginning of each chapter, but we'll see how much vocabulary I throw in. I don't want yall to be confused reading this if you don't have any background knowledge of the era. And finally, while the fic is currently rated teen, there is the possibility I will end up raising that rating depending on how things go.


End file.
